₦airaland Forum

It’s time to play by a different (ethical) set of rules (Part 6)

__ The Rule of Law Drives Investment.

"If you don't meet my demands, I will have you thrown out of the country!" The man shouted at me over the phone. He was the chairman of our local partner in Kenya. This was after I asked him to put up his share of the investment in our joint venture.
It was more than 10 years ago but I still remember like it was yesterday.

Building the network was going to require over $100m in shareholder funds (equity). Our partners, who owned 70% in terms of the agreement, wanted us to put up the entire $100m, even though we would only have 30% of the equity. This had not been our original written understanding when we bid for the license in a public tender.

I suggested that we find other partners in Kenya who had the money to meet their investment obligations, but the partners refused.

When we appealed to the regulator to let us bring in new partners, the Minister of Telecommunications stepped in and began to support the position of the local shareholders. I knew that legally the minister was overstepping his role. It was also clear to me that he was not acting in a rational and fair manner.
By the time of that phone call, the stalemate had been going for months. Numerous meetings to resolve the issue had come to nothing. We were going in circles.

After the phone call, I wrote a letter to our partners and told them they must put up their share of the money or they would have to accept dilution. It was a Friday.

The following day, a Saturday, I was walking my daughters (then infants) in a local park in South Africa when I got an urgent call from our staff in Kenya: "The minister has issued a statement in which he has cancelled our license and ordered us to leave Kenya."

"Do you have a copy of the statement?" I asked calmly. "Gather the legal teams, and fly to Kenya right away."

By ten o'clock Monday morning we had been slotted for appearance before a judge of the High Court of Kenya. An hour later, the judge issued his ruling. He reinstated our license and rebuked the minister in open court.

The minister appealed the ruling of the judge and a higher court of judges threw him out of court. During the appeal process the minister sent an envoy asking me to come and see him "to resolve the issue."

I refused saying: "All he needs to do is publicly withdraw his invalid statement and withdraw his court application."

Not long after the minister was dropped in a cabinet reshuffle. I was later told the president of the country at the time had slammed the minister for "sending the wrong message to investors by behaving like a cowboy!"

Fast forward:
One day I was in my office many years later when we got a call from a very large global organisation. It was their legal department who said to me, “We are planning to make a very large investment in Kenya. As part of our due diligence we are looking at the Rule of Law. Would you mind sharing with us your experiences in terms of how their court system works?”

Our lawyers shared with them our experience, together with our recommendation that they invest in Kenya based on the strength of its legal system to protect investors.

Soon after, they set up their investment.

You see, how a country's legal system works is very important to how investors perceive risk in a country. These days, investors have access to decisions made in your country's courts. During due diligence, they study these judgments carefully. They also study press statements made by those in leadership and talk to other investors who are already invested in your country. No serious investor simply puts up money without looking at the rule of law in a country.

What exactly do I mean by rule of law? Aristotle said more than 2,000 years ago, "the rule of law is better than that of any individual." It means that government officials are held accountable under the law; that laws are just, and applied equally to all; that laws protect everyone's fundamental rights; that the legal process is fair and efficient, and that courts operate with independence and integrity.

Kenya is a country where we have invested heavily over the years. We continue to do so with great confidence, and for me it was the strength of the judicial system when it comes to protecting investors that has been the key.

To be continued...

https://i.imgur.com/zcvSDJ7.jpg

mapet:
Let me take a jibe at my Ibo folks. Had this guy been Ibo, chei! NL would have been awashed with how they are the best, conquering every aspects etc...........

That Prince and his securiry that closed off the roads which caused the stampede must be beheaded publicly according to the Islamic laws!

The man get swag no be small!
Even for that time period?

Ahmet Ali Çelikten

Ahmet Ali Çelikten born İzmirli Alioğlu Ahmed; 1883–1969), also known as Arap Ahmet Ali or İzmirli Ahmet Ali,[1] was an Ottoman aviator who may have been the first black pilot in aviation history and was one of the few black pilots in World War I, like Eugene Jacques Bullard. His grandmother came from [size=13pt]Bornu[/size] (now in Nigeria) to the Ottoman Empire as a slave.

Ahmet born in 1883 in İzmir, in the Aidin Vilayet of the Ottoman Empire to his mother Zenciye Emine Hanım and father Ali Bey, of African Turkish descent. He aimed to become a naval sailor and entered the Naval Technical School named Haddehâne Mektebi (literally "School of the Blooming Mill" in 1904. In 1908, he graduated from school as a First Lieutenant (Mülâzım-ı evvel). And then he went to aviation courses in the Naval Flight School (Deniz Tayyare Mektebi) that was formed on 25 June 1914 at Yeşilköy. He was then a member of the Ottoman Air Force.

During World War I, he married Hatice Hanım (1897–1991) who was an immigrant from Preveza. He became first black military pilot in aviation history when he started serving in November 1916. On 18 December 1917, Captain (Yüzbaşı) Ahmed Ali was sent to Berlin to complete aviation courses.

He died in 1969.

Source: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ahmet_Ali_%C3%87elikten

Lesson to all other prospective hajj pilgrims
Stay in your country where you are loved and where you can practice your religion in peace!
Stop looking for God where He is not present!
Stop going where you are not wanted where you are treated like trash!
Stop saving your money to buy tickets to the grave!
A word is enough for the wise!

Joshua writes,

Corruption has eaten so deep ,even the judicial system is corrupt... When we have corrupt judges who then do we table our complains too

When I embark on a journey by road transport , I would always want to purchase something to eat along the road, I stretch out my hand saying, Hey Boy!!(11Year old) !!!! Can I have some bananas or some oranges, Couple of times, the little boy would always give me the worst of them all packaged in a sack . Unveiling the package,I always wonder . Why should I be given something bad Why would he/she sell the bad stuff to me, maybe because I am in a moving vehicle and he feels I am in a haste... Why should A child of that age (11) have this twisted mind.. This is unacceptable,and it's very predominate were I live somewhere in Africa... Corruption has eaten so deep,I still believe it begins with me to stop this growing menace.

Kindly Advice on what to do,when faced with situations like this ..

My reply:
The thing that should also bother you, is why is that child not in school? An 11 year old selling fruit on the streets! We have to start changing these things.
And most importantly, is there anything I personally could do to send a child to school.
I recently read about a young Indian lady who decided to set up a play group under a tree, and in time it became a national organization. Now she did not have money but she had passion to make a change. In truth that is all it takes. It is the same way we will deal with corruption.

Godlove writes,

Exactly six hours ago, a visiting business person from Bamenda, Cameroon, concluded in similar fashion to your 'Afterthought 1', to wit:

"There is a large, silent majority, that continues to state the contrary of what they observe and know to be the truth.

They continue to say 'apples', when in reality they are looking at bananas, and know them to be such.

When that majority finally breaks ranks, and speaks out with determination and finality, it'll be game over for 'business-as-usual' in Africa. The tides will turn definitely and irreversibly for the good of Africa."

Maybe there's something in that red lunar eclipse I just witnessed after all!

A spiritual reflection:
I'm often asked why I have always found it easy to walk away from a great opportunity once I know it is corrupt. My answer might surprise some of you:
FAITH.
There is something Jesus said, which has always guided me when I'm confronted with a situation where I have to simply walk away. I believe I will never suffer loss because I walked away from a corrupt deal, even if it was potentially worth billions. Jesus promised in Mark 10:29-30, that I will end up with something that is worth 100 times more...I believe Him. So I always have a big smile on my face.

Job put it this way:

".....and those with Clean hands become stronger and stronger".Job 17:9)

Selah (pause and think about it).

Afterthought 2.

One of the most important topics I will tackle in future is the importance of having a judicial system that is prepared to ensure justice. Personally, I believe the courts are the most important institution when it comes to a nation's ability to attract real investment. When we have brave courageous judges our nations prosper...that is biblical.

Afterthought 1.
One of the most corrupt practices involves people who work with some corrupt officials even to prepare government legislation or laws simply to benefit them personally. People who do this kind of thing always see themselves as being so clever, as never to be exposed. What they do not realize is that someone is fully aware of everything. The day those people have the courage to speak out, Africa has changed forever. Maybe you are that person...what was it the Master said?

..."There is nothing hid that will not be exposed."

It’s time to play by a different (ethical) set of rules (Part 5)

Imagine participating in a tender in which one of the bidders wrote the actual bid documents!

It happened to me once...

It happened in Zimbabwe when we were fighting for the license to operate. After the Supreme Court first ruled that the state monopoly in telecoms must be ended, the judges then ordered the Minister of Telecommunications to issue a cell phone license by public tender. The judges gave a deadline by which it had to be done.

A few weeks later a tender was published in the newspapers by the minister. We had no choice but to participate in the process. We wondered at the time how the minister had managed to prepare the tender documents in such a short time. Little did we know that the bid documents had been prepared by one of the participants!

On the day of the closure, there were four bidders and they placed us last out of the four, awarding the tender to a company controlled by a well-known African businessman. The minister appeared jubilantly with the winner, and announced a "new era in telecommunications".

After the announcement of the bidders, I met with my lawyers and we decided to urgently petition the court to undertake a judicial review of the award of the tender. Few people at the time appreciated the existence of this procedure on a public tender.

Our lawyers approached the court and asked that all documents used in the award process be put under court seal. When the order was granted our lawyers rushed to the place where the tender adjudication committee had been holding their meetings and asked the court officials to place all documents including any notes of the members of the committee found in the room under court seal. It happened so quickly that no one had an opportunity to hide anything!

Months later when the hearing was due to start, lawyers from both sides were allowed to study the sealed documents.

Amongst the documents found was a telefax draft document of the original bid document. It had been sent to the chairman of the committee by the company that was ultimately awarded the tender.

__The date on the fax showed that it had been sent before the tender was published!


During the process of marking, our company had mysteriously been docked points to ensure it came last. When we showed these documents to the judge, he cancelled the license and licensed us instead, as we had actually won, even the rigged tender!


The minister in question accepted the decision of the court, and we were allowed to operate. However, she went ahead to reinstate the license that had been cancelled by a court to the bidder that had cheated so blatantly. No member of the committee including its chair was ever asked to explain.

Amazed?! You should not be. This kind of thing happens all the time.

To be continued…

Nature has a way of taking care of those who are wasting oxygen!
Good riddance to them both!
Make their husbands open eyes well when choosing their new wives!

He he he,
Knowing the Igbos, those who will be appointed will celebrate with their families and friends.
While the clowns in these Eze ndigbos are also lobbying underground to add their families to the list.

Have they opened the aso chapel?

October1960:
This fellow is correct. So people in Nigeria still believe in superstition in this modern day of TV, mobile phones and Airplanes?

I guess mobile phones are based on jazz? Smh

Wake up people. No such thing as jazz or religion or all that make belief stuff. When we get pass all that superstition the country will develop.

I tire for my people o!

shullamite:
This is a simple law of physis, look at the picture very well, the block is centraly tied to the stick and placed on the tip of the bottle with a holo to create a balance, look how the stick is tilted to one side to create a balance to carry the weight of the block on the bottle, if the weight of the block is carefuly placed on the bottle, the bottle will never charter.

I thought I was the only person that saw arrangement!

moscow37d:
For those of u talking about balancing. I think u need to take a second look of that picture. Even if it were to be ordinary stick. That stick am looking at, is not straight enough to make a balance on the glass. Pls we need a better scientific proof.

That bent stick is the secret.
Because of the bent shape, the centre of gravity is not in the middle and the attached stone gave it the stability.
Not everything is magic o!

That is simply science.
The stone attached to the stick has altered the centre of gravity of the whole arrangement.
What you are seeing is just BALANCE!
This is no magic

On a serious note!


The Islamic doctrine that anyone who dies during the pilgrimage — one of the five pillars of Islam, and a duty for all able-bodied Muslims with the means to make the trip — goes to heaven.

On Thursday, the Saudi civil defense directorate said on Twitter, “We ask God to grant the martyrs his mercy.”

Why is this kind of barbaric stupidity tolerated as a valid set of beliefs?

That's what they believe, it's how their law works. You can't expect much from a country that crucifies teens and cloaks women, that literally does everything according to Islam, and then some. Including not caring about people dying in masses at their annual reunion. Saudi Arabia did Muslims the ultimate favour, twice. They kill each other wishing it were them.

dejavski:
What's the title of the film?

ELE!
Extinction Level Event!

Jesus said "He that is without sin should cast the first stone "
The bible says "for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God "
Now this sinners now decided to go and look for devil's trouble without christ by casting stones.
Of course this is the result.

1000 ways to die,
Number 948
Titty bang bang,

Let cossy beware o!

abu12:
Since d fulani's and other indigenes are tired of saraki rulership, the ibos in kwara shld not let him down, they shld stiff there neck out 4 saraki like chukwudi44. They shld organise a rally in support of saraki very fast.

You wicked o!
Make Igbos go show their neck there abi?

Chai
See the crude pressure sensitive trigger!

The woman sef na wahala woman,
When you are in a strange land,
Try and avoid trouble at all cost!
Why was she lecturing the unruly boy?
Was she his mother?

Wetin?
Policemen no dey there to drag him there like a stubborn goat?

SENATORS GET $50,000 SALLAH GIFT TO IMPEACH SARAKI

A new dimension has been injected into the drama surrounding the trauma of the embattled Senate President, Dr Bukola Saraki as senators opposed to his emergence as president have vowed to impeach the two-term governor of kwara State when they resume plenary at the end of their six weeks break. A highly competent source told Nigerian Pilot that no fewer than 35 senators yesterday collected $50,000 each as Sallah gift ahead of resumption of business by the federal lawmakers next week. According to one senator-beneficiary of the largesse, “they said the money was Sallah gift, but we know what they want. The motive is clear.” Prodded to open up further on the matter, the senator said the motive for the gift “is to curry our support before we reconvene. They are not happy that Saraki wield so much influence here like when about 81 senators passed a vote of confidence on him. They want to reduce his influence on members ahead of resumption date.” The lawmaker, who added that a senator from the Southwest and another from the Northwest were coordinating the sharing of the largesse, disclosed that most of the senators who collected the gift reported to the senate president. “But he told them to follow their conscience even if they are taking the gifts,” he added. This medium further learnt that the sponsors of the gift may be working for the anti-Saraki group in the All Progressives Congress, APC, who still nurse angst against the emergence of Saraki as Senate President. Should the politician’s matter with the CCT fail, the sponsors of the largesse in the senate hoped to cut down on his support base so as to weaken it considerably ahead of any further action that may require voting against the interest of Saraki in the Senate. “But we are not fools to swallow all that garbage hook, line and sinker. After all, the emergence of Saraki as Senate president was neater than that of former Speaker, Aminu Tambuwal in 2011,” retorted the senator who said he had collected his but will always stand by Saraki. Meanwhile, Dr. Saraki has pledged to appear before the Code of Conduct Tribunal today, promising to observe the rule of law and the constitution in all his dealings at official and private engagements. A statement by his spokesman, Yusuph Olaniyonu yesterday said that, “while the Senate President, Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki, had stated and maintained that he is ready to submit himself to due process of the law on any issue concerning him, he also believes that he has an inalienable right to resort to the same judiciary for protection when he feels his fundamental rights are about to be infringed upon.” The statement further said that the Senate President is a law abiding citizen and his absence from tribunal was based on legal advice he received from his counsel that it is not necessary for him to appear before the tribunal at this stage since the jurisdiction of the tribunal and the process of initiating the matter are being challenged before the Federal High Court, Abuja. “Following the adjournment for the determination of the motion on notice and the substantive suit before the Federal High Court to 30th of September and the appeal pending before the Court of Appeal adjourned to the 29th of September, 2015, the Senate President has decided, as a law abiding citizen, to appear before the Tribunal in the interim,” the press release also disclosed. Saraki, it continued, has taken the decision to attend the Tribunal sitting to demonstrate his respect for the rule of law in spite of his personal reservation on the process of his trial and the purpose it may be intended to serve. The senate president therefore assured Nigerians of his absolute belief in the judicial process and is therefore confident that the course of justice would be served at the end of this matter.

http://nigerianpilot.com/senators-get-50000-sallah-gift-to-impeach-saraki/#.dpuf

If this news is true?
Then I'm highly disappointed with Buhari!

The source:

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Strive-Masiyiwa/496453373762496

It’s time to play by a different (ethical) set of rules (Part 3)

"We want you to be our local partner," he began. "You are smart, and you have lots of friends in governments across Africa. When there's a tender which interests us, we'll call you and we can work on it together. We will pay you a 10% commission on every deal that we win together."

The company he worked for was big and prestigious. It is one of the largest in Europe.

The gentleman talking to me was a director, and had traveled all the way to see me.

"What happens if your tender is not the lowest?" I asked quietly.

"Then you must do everything to make sure we (you and us) get it."

He smiled.

"You want me to be a Commission Agent?"

"No, no," he said, "our local partner."

I could see I was making him uncomfortable.

"We make only the best equipment. This Chinese stuff is rubbish. Ours is the best, but you know it costs a little more, that is why we need someone like you with a little influence."

I looked at him.

"You are looking for a Commission Agent. I don't do that kind of business because it means that somewhere along the line I will be required to cut deals which are corrupt."

His face turned red, then white as a sheet. Then he got up hurriedly and left my office.

He could hear me laughing loudly as he left.

“Commission Agents...” Know them for what they are.

There are some countries where all business is done through so-called Commission Agents. This is organised corruption.

Do not admire people who make money as "Commission Agents," despite the conspicuous consumption that often follows their way of life. Commission Agents are not entrepreneurs. Also be wary about companies that simply want to use you as an agent and middleman. That is not entrepreneurship.

The business of "providing access" is one of the worst forms of corruption. Large international companies that have so called "local partners" whose role is simply to provide "access to the right people" are not innocent of corruption, even though their fancy lawyers might say otherwise.

Let's play by a different set of rules! Let's kick corruption and corrupt practices out of Africa.

Afterthought 1

Festus Mogae, the former President of Botswana, is one of my favorite Heads of State, ever. When we won the license to set up a mobile network in his country in 1998, I never once had to go and see him throughout his term of office. I did not realise that he appreciated this until one day I was sitting at an international conference he was also attending. He then singled me out and said one of the nicest things: "You see this gentleman here? He runs one of the largest businesses in my country. When he comes he never asks for access to the VIP lounge, he never comes to see me. He does not go to see Ministers. He just does his business. I personally like that very much; it means our policies are working."


Afterthought 2

We need to create policies that work for everybody, big and small, local and international. They must work for everybody in the same way, and in a transparent manner. Why should the “big guys” always go and see ministers and presidents about private sector business matters? These are the practices that create an impression that there's corruption, sometimes even when it doesn't actually exist.

Strive Masiyiwa 
The Executive Chairman & Founder of the Econet Group.
Culled from Facebook